Front-end loaders and similar heavy machinery have various mechanisms which allow a bucket attached to the loader arms of the loader to tilt up and down, or vertically. This allows soil or other material to be dug into by tilting the loader bucket downwardly, and scooped up for transport, by tilting the material-filled bucket upwardly. Dug-up material is then dumped by tilting the bucket downwardly again. Throughout this operation, the conventional bucket remains horizontal relative to the loader, and usually, to the ground.
In many working situations, however, the mere vertical tilting action of the bucket does not allow the most efficient digging and dumping of the dug-up material. In many instances, it would be beneficial to use the bucket tilted at an angle that is not coincident with that of the loader. Road angle grading and dumping materials to a location smaller in size than the width of the bucket are examples of particular situations where a side-tilting, or laterally tilting loader bucket would be desirable.
The general idea of providing a laterally tiltable or side-dumping loader bucket mechanism is known. Existing United States Patents which show such tilting bucket mechanisms include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,330 to Keskitalo et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,288 to Smith
U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,161 to Weyer
U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,171 to Isaksen
U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,797 to Coon
U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,538 to Miller et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,131 to Buttke
Another tilting system is shown in German Document 1 273 434 to Ludowici.
Unfortunately, the mechanisms of all of the aforementioned prior art suffer from one or more disadvantages. For example, some devices incorporate mechanisms which, though appropriate for backhoe excavators, would be unworkable and incompatible with the more rigorous needs of a front-end loader machine. Weyer, Buttke, Coon and Miller et al. are such references.
Other devices suffer from the limitation that the side dumping is achieved by the release of a bracket assembly on the underside of the bucket coupled with a corresponding upward extension of a rod or cylinder causing the bucket to move from a horizontal position to a tilted position in one sudden movement. While such mechanisms may adequately allow for side dumping, they unfortunately are not well suited for precise excavations requiring varying bucket angles or angled road grading. Keskitalo and Isaksen are examples of such references.
Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to overcome these deficiencies and provide a durable mechanism for use with a front-end loader which allows side-dumping, while also having the capability to selectively and gradually move the bucket from a generally horizontal position to a laterally tilted position, so that precise excavations and like functions can effectively be carried out at varying angles.